Six Steps to Good Health

The Natural Way

Good health is much more than merely the absence of disease. People generally do not go from a healthy condition to a sick condition overnight – although it may seem that way if we focus only on the symptoms of illness.

Your body is extremely effective at achieving and maintaining good health, if it is given what it needs.

For some time, I have provided tools and guides to help visitors cleanse their bodies and naturally address specific ailments. However, upon reflection, it hasn't been clear as to how to navigate through all of the information on this site. Do you do the Toxic Cleansing (cleansing your colon, kidneys, liver) first, or the Whole Body Cleansing? How do Natural Cures and Diet and Nutrition fit in?

To help you better use the guides and techniques that I have provided, I have created this simple master guide, which gives six easy steps to good health.

The first step on your path to good health is to drink sufficient amounts of water - This sounds like a strange first item to put into a top level guide. Doesn't everyone drink water? It turns out that most people do not drink enough water. Dehydration is subtle... so subtle that most people are unaware of how much water they need. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Statistically, more than 90% of us are dehydrated; we are not getting the amount of water our bodies need to operate at optimal capacity. Insufficient water consumption (dehydration) can make you feel tired, give you headaches, weaken your immune reactions or manifest itself in other seemingly unrelated symptoms. Water is the most important nutrient that our bodies need to function properly. It plays a critical role in the natural metabolic, digestive, and cellular regeneration processes. When our bodies become dehydrated, our organs suffer, which can result in various types of degenerative diseases. All major systems of the body depend on water. Drinking sufficient amounts of water should help many of your other health-related symptoms and will help to cleanse your body, in and of itself.

Your next step towards achieving good health is to exercise regularly - Anyone, even someone not used to a regular exercise program, can instantly benefit from starting basic cardiovascular, aerobic exercise and strength training of one form or another. If you get little exercise, even walking 10 minutes a day can help immensely. In addition to helping to control your blood sugar and helping you lose weight, exercise also has a detoxifying effect on your body. While there are many forms of exercise, walking and trampoline exercise are the most easily accessible and beneficial.

Next cleanse your elimination organs and eliminate parasites - The human body has been honed by millions of years of evolution to heal itself and fight disease – its natural state of being is a condition of good health. However, the environment that our bodies are exposed to has changed dramatically in the last 50 years – faster than the human body can adapt. Exposure to environmental factors such as processed foods, additives, pollution and toxins have left our bodies less able to cope with diseases. Resetting the body's natural condition through a thorough body cleanse will help you achieve improved health, naturally.

Start with a colon cleanse to cleanse your entire digestive tract. Why start with cleansing the colon to achieve good health? According to the Royal Academy of Physicians of Great Britain, 90% of all disease and discomfort is directly or indirectly related to an unclean colon. It is no wonder, given that your colon is the primary means for your body to eliminate waste. Additionally, poor digestion is one of the world's major health problems. Your digestive system is a complex arrangement of organs and intestines, an assortment of acids, bacteria, and enzymes designed to nourish vital organs and body systems. Your food and drink must be broken down into small molecules of nutrients before they can be absorbed into the blood and carried to cells throughout the body. A clogged or poorly functioning digestive system prevents the absorption of nutrients your body needs, and inhibits the elimination of toxins which are damaging your liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and other vital organs. After your colon cleanse, make sure get enough fiber in your diet by eating high fiber food to keep your colon clean.

Undertake a parasite cleanse - It is estimated that parasites infect up to 80% of the world population. Amazingly enough, these infestations are not limited to developing nations with poor sanitation. If you think you do not have parasites, you may be wrong. You can have a parasite infestation with few symptoms – but the overall effect can cause other illnesses to take a bigger toll on your body, due to a weakened immune system. Parasites can rob you of your goal to achieve good health. Undergo a parasite cleanse every 6 months, as it is easy to get re-infected – especially if you are around pets or other animals.

Follow this up with a kidney cleanse – Your kidneys act as filters that remove toxins and metabolic waste from your blood. Through years of abuse, your kidneys could become less effective, leading to conditions such as gout. Performing a Kidney Cleanse will help to get your kidneys back into shape. After your kidneys are clean, eat an apple a day, to help ensure that your kidneys remain in good condition.

Finally, flush your gall bladder and liver with a liver cleanse – your liver is a complex organ that is responsible for a great many functions. Flushing your liver of built up toxins and fatty deposits can help your liver function more effectively. You can find information on the liver's many functions and a simple do-it-yourself guide to administering a Liver Cleanse. You may need to repeat your liver cleanse, but never more frequently than every 2 weeks. I rely on my body telling me when I need a liver cleanse. I do this when I see old symptoms, such as allergies re-appearing.

The next step to achieving good health is to Properly Nourish Your Body - Unfortunately, today's diets are made up of more fats, more sugars, more carbohydrates and fewer nutritionally rich foods. Moreover, in our busy lives, we tend to eat foods filled with artificial ingredients that have adverse effects on our bodies.

One of the most important things you can do to get the nourishment that your body needs is to eat 7 -9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. One simple and effective way to increase your servings of fruit and vegetables is through juicing. If you do not consume this many servings of fruit and vegetables, you are probably not getting the necessary essential vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and phytochemicals so critical to building and maintaining good health. If you are like me and find it difficult to eat so many servings of fruit and vegetables, you should consider taking mineral and vitamin supplements.

A second important thing that you should do is learn to control your blood sugar by eating low glycemic foods. Spikes in your blood sugar causes a syndrome called insulin resistance. This problem can lead to diseases such as Type II Diabetes, heart attacks, high cholesterol, and Alzheimer's disease. Controlling your blood sugar levels will help you live a healthier life.

A third important factor in your diet should be to get sufficient fiber by eating high fiber food. Fiber not only helps to control blood sugar, but also helps to continuously cleanse your body of toxins and fatty deposits that lead to poor health.

Finally, eating natural and organic food will help to provide a better environment for your body. This guide provides practical advice such as what additives and sweeteners are the best and worst for you, and which fruits and vegetables have the highest pesticide / chemical content and hence should be purchased from organic sources.

Whole Body Cleanse – In step 3 you cleansed your elimination organs and rid your body of parasites. However, toxins can be stored in the form of fat throughout your body. Healing crisis provides a good metaphor of how your body works in this regard. Whole Body Detox provides background information on ways to eliminate these toxins will help you continue your path to good health.

Master Cleanse – depriving your body of food over a short period of a few days allows your body to cleanse itself. Not burdened with the process of digestion, your body can focus on cleansing itself. As fat deposits are broken down, toxins are released and eliminated. This process can be accelerated by consuming either specific juices or fasting solutions that help promote cleansing and healing. Fasting and the Juice Fast provides you with additional background information and details on how to administer a pure fast, a monofoods fast and a juice fast. Undergo a fast at least once per year, to stay on the path to good health.

Hyperthermia – elevating your body temperature helps increase your metabolism and accelerates your body's natural internal cleansing processes. Hyperthermia gives you guidelines on using heat to help you achieve good health. Use them to administer these techniques as often as you can.

Oxygen Therapy – oxygen is a powerful cleansing process. Learn about using oxygen to help cleanse your body of toxins.

Target Your Specific Ailments with Natural Cures - Now that you have gotten your body onto a solid foundation of good health, you should be feeling better. Do you notice that some of the nagging symptoms that you previously had have disappeared? If you still find that you are plagued with specific ailments, you can find natural cures to common ailments. This section will continue to grow over time to cover additional ailments.

For serious conditions, my best advice is to seek appropriate professional medical attention. If you are interested in pursuing only natural cures, I suggest you consult a Naturopathic Doctor (ND). An ND has undergone similar education to an MD, but has focused on natural cures and therapies. You can find practitioners near you at Naturopathic Doctors in the U.S. and Naturopathic Doctors in Canada. If you live elsewhere, check with local licensing boards to find resources that can help you find an ND near you.